


My Hero

by PerditaAlottachocolate



Series: Nino Appreciation Week [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Being a hero, Day 2: Hero/Villain, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage, Nino Appreciation Week, Post Reveal, ninette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-07 20:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12239973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerditaAlottachocolate/pseuds/PerditaAlottachocolate
Summary: Sometimes Nino wished he could go back to not knowing, so that he wouldn’t have to think about his poor heart when Ladybug went one-on-one with yet another monstrosity. He hadn’t sign up for that. Nuh-uh. He married a talented and brave woman, sure, but he hadn’t know she wasthatbrave.Never in his life did he feel more helpless than in those moments when he could only be a passive witness, not able to do a thing. He could only groan and grunt every time he heard a thud, hands clenched to fists and jaw set in stone.Nino Appreciation Week, Day 2: Hero/Villain





	My Hero

**Author's Note:**

> This is my only non fluff/humor story for NAW. It's a companion to my [ML Reveal Week fic "Stay"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11819169/chapters/26667789), but it can be read as a stand alone piece.  
> There's going to be another part of this series, for Day 5, but that one is pure fluff.
> 
> Again a gigantic thank you to Remasa, for checking if this doesn't make you cringe because of poor quality or mistakes! Make sure to check out her fantastic fic for NAW: "All Eyes on Me".

Nino despised Akumas with all his heart. He despised Hawk Moth too, but that coward never had the balls to come out and play with Ladybug and Chat Noir, sending innocent cannon fodder instead. And as innocent as the akumatized fellows were underneath (Nino should know best, he had been one of the first), outside they were outright dangerous. Lethally so.

It seemed that just during his collège years he had already seen enough akuma activity for a lifetime, but year after year new villains hit and he always ended up in front of a tv watching the development and biting his nails.

And he was sitting there again and gnawing at what was left of his nails. Because just a few weeks earlier the fight Ladybug and Chat had been leading had suddenly become personal. Now it wasn’t just a spotted heroine bravely soaring through Paris skyline in the company of a black feline. Now it was his wife and his best friend risking their lives on a daily basis.

Sometimes Nino wished he could go back to not knowing, so that he wouldn’t have to think about Amélie and Adèle every time Chat got smashed into a brick wall or about his poor heart when Ladybug went one-on-one with yet another monstrosity. He hadn’t sign up for that. Nuh-uh. He married a talented and brave woman, sure, but he hadn’t know she was _that_ brave.

Now he gave up on biting nails and started pacing around the room. Despite the heroes’ best efforts the battle somehow got dragged through city almost to their doorstep. He didn’t even need the tv anymore, he could see the fight from his own windows. It looked even scarier. And it went on far longer than usual. Either Marinette and Adrien were not in good shape today, or those Akumas were getting stronger.

Never in his life did he feel more helpless than in those moments when he could only be a passive witness, not able to do a thing. He could only groan and grunt every time he heard a thud, hands clenched to fists and jaw set in stone.

There was a familiar shout of ‘Cataclysm’ (how could he have _not_ recognized that voice for so many years? It was so obvious now!), and he saw a metal construction falling apart over the fighting trio.

Nino didn’t waste another second. He tapped the stopwatch to keep an eye on the time count. Then he grabbed the container he had prepared as soon as Marinette transformed, just in case, and rushed to the roof. He was hoping this time the kwami food wouldn’t be needed, that with the help of Chat’s power they would wrap things up pretty quickly.

He was wrong. Cataclysm must have turned out not to be a successful diversion and the battle continued, only now Chat was on timer. Soon Nino heard the clicks of his baton as the feline hero retreated to their building to repower.

This was the only way Nino could help them – providing the shelter and food for their kwamis, so that they could get back to battle as quick as possible. Once again the wave of powerlessness overcame the only civilian out there to know the identities of the super duo. He prayed to any deity who would listen for any way in which he could do more, but in vain. He didn’t possess any special powers or abilities. All he could do was to assist them from the stands.

Adrien detransformed and collapsed onto a small mat Nino had put in a secure corner hidden by the chimneys. He was breathing heavily and gratefully took the water bottle from his friend. Plagg, uncharacteristically silent, was already stuffing himself with camembert. Nino didn’t even need to ask to know how serious the situation was. He let his friend and the kwami have some rest, while he risked a peek over the chimneys.

The sight made his blood freeze and his heart stop.

Ladybug was just catching her Lucky Charm, when the Akuma struck. The heroine was thrown off the roof and into a terrace two stories below. The blow was so strong that after the fall she rolled a few times and stopped on the concrete banister, motionless. The object she summoned still lay where she had been standing mere seconds ago. The beast cackled with satisfaction and kicked it to the gutter. Then it started its slow crawl to the unconscious heroine.

Nino didn’t hear Adrien’s questions. He didn’t react to Plagg’s yells. All of his blood _boiled_ in that one second and then solidified into iron. Nino didn’t feel anything, didn’t think. Before he even noticed, his legs were already carrying him over the rooftops and to Ladybug.

Adrien and Plagg were still screaming after him, but he was deaf and blind to anything but the still body of his wife laying on the terrace vulnerable and unprotected. She was two houses away, yet he could see her like she was just in front of him. The sprint over the rooftops seemed to be taking forever, but Nino just ignored the burning of his lungs, the ache in his limbs and the slips of his feet over the tiles. His brain restarted about halfway to the terrace and he stumbled when he remembered he was just himself, without a supersuit, running over slippery roof right into danger.

A plan. He needed a plan, but it was always Marinette who came up with those. Lucky Charm was _her_ plan and now it lay in the gutter. Nino could see it still gleaming red over the grayness of the pipe. One last look at Ladybug and he modified his direction to intercept the magical object.

He reached it in time to catch a glimpse of the Akuma jumping down into the terrace. Somewhere far behind he heard Chat’s transformation spell, but it was too far for the feline hero to make it. Acting purely on instinct he didn’t suspect he had, he slid down using the gutter as support and in just two leaps he was in front of Ladybug. To his relief, she was slowly coming to her senses. So help was on the way, all he needed to do was to hold off the Akuma long enough for his wife to wake up or Chat to join them.

But he didn’t have a weapon and the Lucky Charm looked useless, like they usually did to anyone but the spotted heroine.

‘Catch!’ was all the warning he got before glimpsing a silver dash with the corner of his eye. Chat’s baton found his hand almost magically. Nino gripped it firmly and prepared for a fight.

Hit. Parry.

Don’t yield even for one step.

Hit. Block.

Ladybug is right behind you.

Clank. Thud.

Chat will be here any second now.

Breathe. Hit.

You can do it.

Hit. Parry.

You have to.

Block. Hit.

Oh, fu-

That was his last thought as the Akuma ripped Chat’s baton from his hand and threw him to the side. Then the world went black.

 

***

 

‘Niiinooo~’

A subtle whisper was the first thing he heard upon waking up.

‘Niinooo~’

He felt a delicate breath on his earlobe.

Marinette.

It was her voice. His Marilady was calling him and it wouldn’t do to keep her waiting. Nino opened his eyes.

He was lying in their bed, in Marinette’s arms. She was all right. She was smiling now, but he saw the traces the tears must have left on her cheeks.

‘You’re okay,’ she breathed and pulled him closer.

‘Can’t. Breathe,’ he choked.

‘Do you need to go to hospital?’

‘Not. So. Strong,’ he wheezed and Marinette loosened her deadly grip in an instant.

‘Sorry,’ she said sheepishly. ‘Sometimes I forget how strong I am. Are you alright?’

‘I think so,’ Nino said inspecting his aching limbs. ‘A little sore maybe. You?’

‘Couldn’t be better.’ Marinette looked at him with immense pride. ‘You’re my hero.’

‘Say what?’

‘You saved me,’ she said kissing the top of his head. ‘Adrien told me what you did. If it wasn’t for you I-‘ her voice broke.

‘Shhhhh, there’s no need for that,’ now Nino pulled her closer and started stroking her hair. ‘I’d do anything for you, you know that?’

‘You could have died!’ she sobbed.

‘You could have too,’ he said quietly. ‘What would I do without you, Nettie?’

Marinette raised her head from his chest. ‘Let’s never find out,’ she said and kissed him gently.

With a sigh she curled up against his side again and let him stroke her back. There was no place he would rather be than with her, cuddling like that, forever. But he couldn’t. Soon there would be another akuma. And another. And another. How long do they have before it’s finally over? Will she be the ultimate winner? Or will it be him who loses his whole world?

 

***

 

Nino waited for Marinette to fall asleep and then he gently pulled out of her embrace and turned off the light in the bedroom. He seriously doubted he would be able to sleep for the next few hours, the memories of the fight still haunting his thoughts. He decided it would be a good occasion to have some work done since he hadn’t exactly been in a state to do anything productive for the best part of the afternoon. He checked on Tikki, only to find her snoring lightly in her nest on the shelf and he closed the bedroom door.

As he reached the living room a strange creepy feeling overcame him, like an itch he couldn’t quite place. Nino looked around the dark room but saw nothing out of place. Yet he felt the hairs on his neck raising and his muscles tensed in alarm.

He turned the light on and immediately noticed a black box with red ornaments, resting on the coffee table. He knew what it was. Marinette and Adrien had similar ones. They told him all about that glorious September day when they had received their Miraculous.

Nino hesitated. This was what he was asking for today, wasn’t it? To finally be able to help, to make a difference, to protect those he loved most. But he was just Nino Lahiffe, a bit silly, somewhat clever, sure, but not even half as strong as Adrien, just a simple music lover. He was no hero material.

‘Good evening, young man,’ he heard an old rusty voice behind him. There was a short Chinese in a red flower shirt standing there. Nino hadn’t heard him move, he could swear there was no one in the room with him mere seconds ago.

‘Go on, open it,’ the man encouraged. ‘Your time has come.’

Nino reached for the box and was momentarily blinded by light. When it faded away there was a small creature floating in front of his face, similar to Tikki and Plagg but all green, with a tiny turtle shell on its back.

‘Evening, Master Nino,’ it bowed. ‘My name is Wayzz and it’s an honor to finally meet the new Guardian.’

 

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate your comments, they are my main motivation to write.
> 
> If you liked this fic, check out my other stories, including prompts for Nino Appreciation Week - you can find them here or on my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/perditaalottachocolate-blog).


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